The reference in this specification to any prior publication (or information derived from it), or to any matter which is known, is not, and should not be taken as an acknowledgment or admission or any form of suggestion that the prior publication (or information derived from it) or known matter forms part of the common general knowledge in the field of endeavour to which this specification relates.
It is often desirable to recycle left over construction materials. With concrete for example, construction teams will generally prepare more fresh concrete than required to avoid being left without enough to complete a task. The residual unhardened concrete often remains in the agitator bowls of mixer trucks and other storage vessels. This residual concrete can be onerous and expensive to remove, recycle and dispose of.
Compositions/formulations have been developed which assist with wet/unhardened residual concrete processing and recycling. However, these formulations are often made up of component parts that need to be packaged separately. Typically, these component parts are stored in water soluble bags that are thrown into the concrete storage vessels. These methods have several disadvantages.
Firstly, the component parts are often packaged in a limited number of volume sizes. This places the onus on workmen to calculate the required number of bags of each component part to match the amount of residual concrete to be processed. This takes time, and often results in an excess amount of formulation being used. Alternatively, if the number of bags to be used is miscalculated, an ineffective amount of formulation may be applied leading to ineffective breakdown of the concrete.
Secondly, the water soluble bag type distribution method often results in inadequate/non uniform distribution of the component parts in the agitator bowl/storage vessel. Therefore, the method requires considerable mixing, and even so, pockets of unmixed formulation may be found.
In addition, existing concrete recycling methods often require further processing. Although the addition of compositions/formulation may assist with processing/recycling of the residual unhardened concrete, it is often the case that the processed concrete needs to be subsequently physically broken down. For example, often after any formulation is applied, the processed concrete is required to be further broken down with an excavator or the like.
The present invention seeks to address at least some of the above mentioned disadvantages by providing an apparatus, composition and method for recycling materials like, for example, unhardened concrete.